I recently got a demo of Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, Exchange, SQL Server and Communications Server all working together. It is a rich and complex offering, with myriad ways of communicating. We used to have a telephone, fax and the postal mail. Now with this combo we have telephony, e-mail, video, Web conferencing, instant messaging and various kinds of alerts -- plus you can still use fax and the U.S. mail!
For me, a simple man of the past, it's a bit too much. It's like you spend all your time communicating and no time working.
The good news is IT groups can choose which mechanisms to invoke, maximizing communication efficiency while minimizing disruption.
All of this is prelude to news about the next version of Office Communicator Server. The new rev, expected this year, doesn't just detect whether you are present on the network, but where you are physically. As a boss, this is tempting. As an employee, it seems a little uncomfortable.
Do you use Communicator (Redmond claims over 100 million adherents)? If so, share your thoughts via a simple e-mail at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/26/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
It's no secret that Google wants nearly all that Microsoft has -- productivity software, operating systems, browsers and, more recently, enterprise mail.
Google Apps, which includes hosted e-mail, has snagged a few high profile customers, and now Google is hungry for more.
Migration is always a bear, and Google hopes to ease the move with Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange.
The idea is to keep Exchange running while the mailboxes are migrated to Google. Google claims it's a piece of cake that only requires four steps. Exchange is a pretty rich and complex product, so I'm guessing it’s not that simple.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/24/2010 at 1:17 PM3 comments
Microsoft's first even enterprise volume license plan, Select is being discontinued and replaced by Select Plus.
If you don't want to move up to Select Plus, you'll need to renew your Select license by July 2011.
One of the key differences is that Select pricing is based on forecasts, while Select Plus is based on actual purchases. Select Plus also offers more flexibility when you purchase with the aim of eliminating cases where IT paid for licenses for new software but couldn't use them because delivery dates slipped.
Experts, while not happy that one option is going away, believe that Select Plus is far simpler for IT to manage.
Has Microsoft licensing improved in recent years? You tell me at [email protected].
CORRECTION: The year 2011 was inadvertently left off at the end of the second paragraph, above. It has been added. Our apologies for this error -- Becky Nagel, Editor
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/24/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
Here are some of your responses for Doug's idea of third-party patches, like Adobe, being bundled with Microsoft's Patch Tuesdays:
Huge YAY from me! Currently, Adobe requires a "Yes, Install" click and a manual restart for the installation of patches. For many of the users in my office, they just don't take the time to do this and thus the software goes without the update.
I would be thrilled to have the updates installed automatically so I don't have to worry about the Adobe security holes being open on the workstation computers in the office.
Also, I wouldn't have to go around to every workstation to ensure that the updates have actually been installed.
-Heidi
Yes, please make Adobe patches part of Patch Tuesday. We need an easy way to patch Adobe products and harden our Microsoft OS systems. Pushing patches via WSUS gives us some hope that the Adobe products will be effectively patched.
-Tony
Adding third-party software to Patch Tuesday would help to improve the overall security rating of all those PCs on the internet and I think it may help those PCs from becoming Spam-Bots.
- Raymond
With Microsoft, IBM and Azure all vying for a piece of the cloud computing pie, Doug wants to know who you trust to deliver the best experience. One reader believes there is already a clear choice:
IBM, because I haven't heard any negative press on their entry. And I don't hear about AS400's and OS390's crashing.
- Pat
Finally, here are some more of your responses for your top companies or products that have gone the way of the dodo:
Atari for the Atari 2600. This put game consoles on the map.
The Coleco Adam home computer. It was affectionately known as the "adam bomb" due to poor sales.
- John
My favorite defunct product is the eight-track. It was practical, robust and had good fidelity.
- Carlos
Your article brought up many memories. The VIC-20 was the first computer I could barely afford in college.
Prior to serving time with Wang systems (more on that later) my career started on Data General equipment. Their OS was phenomenal (this was 1983) but their hardware sucked. If you accidentally kicked one of the support legs, the system would crash. Also they had just released their VS series that was a full 32bit!
I used a Wang VS100 for a year in 1984. The system drove me nuts! It was entirely function key driven. No GUI or command line interface. It had a secret box inside of it that did the word processing. None of the service techs really knew what it did, they just knew not to touch it.
If I had to choose my favorite dead product, I would vote for the HP3000. We had one at our office when I started in 1985. We went through five different versions over 20 years and the original software written would still run. The product line is dead now but there are still people using it.
-Roger
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/24/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
In 1996 I was news editor at Network World and just starting to use the Internet (I was all CompuServe before that). There was this thing called a search engine where you type in a word or phrase and find stuff. I tried all kinds of kooky things and then typed in "KKK." I was curious if the KKK had a Web site. I soon found hundreds of hate sites, all recruiting members, selling hate music, T-shirts and linking to one-another, forming a virtual mesh of hate.
I decided this would make a pretty cool story. I interviewed some of the haters and then talked to Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center who mentioned that hate speech might have to be censored on the Internet. The story caused a firestorm, not just by exposing the recruiting tactics, but more so for censorship.
Rabbi Cooper, who was a phenomenal resource, is at it again. This time he's chronicling how social networks are the new "Web of hate."
The article brought back memories and made clear that Rabbi Cooper has a nearly identical view 14 years later. Here is the last sentence of the NYT article: "The goal is to get the collective genius of the Internet to help combat this problem," he said.
Here is the last sentence of mine from 14 years ago: "We need to engage in a consortium, get some of the collective genius that created the 'Net' and the providers to come up with technology strategy," Cooper said. "We will be approaching a couple of thousand companies and asking, do you have rules and will you consider them?"
Do you think the Web should be a free-for-all or should hate speech and other unseemly items be restricted? Send your unguarded thoughts to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/24/2010 at 1:17 PM15 comments
Last week Doug turned to you for opinions on how spammers should be punished. Here are some reader responses:
I believe the proper punishment for these spambot net operators is to have them open, close and delete one of their messages for each of the copies that they sent. No multiple deletes either. Each one must be opened, closed and then deleted. Figure after they do that a few billion times that they'll get the message. I'd suggest giving them an old pc with Microsoft's minimum ram suggestion for whatever infected pc they get to use.
- Michael
The real problem is developing the technology to find them in the first place. In spite of TV shows and hysteria about DOJ, FBI and Carnivore, we can't reliably locate spammers and their systems.
As for their punishment, the same should apply to convicted hackers and DDoS-ers, as well: we retain appropriate jail time. Fines already exist, but we add a large civil fine based on estimates of public time and bandwidth taken up. Use the money to fund anti-hacking agencies.
As further deterrent, hit them where they live. Take what they love. Barrier their tools of destruction. For five years after release from prison, they wear large, powerful neodymium or electromagnets on their wrists -- much like tracking anklets --that will scramble any electronic media they approach. Who will hire them for computer work with that little attachment? They may not be able to find work at McDonald's. It'll get them tossed out of video game arcades. Would they even be able to drive a modern vehicle? If mega-magnets won't cripple their computer use, some other electronic attachment/device should be developed to foil their computer use.
-Jon
For the creators of any kind of software product that creates spam, havoc or harm to others -- the death penalty. No free room and board, no "understanding" their upbringing, just eliminate the creators of chaos!
- Anonymous
Do with them like AIG did with the guy who lost $12 billion in 8 months -- give them millions in bailouts and put them on the payroll to explain how they did it.
-Colfax
Pay-per-view public execution!
-Tim
Spammers should be basted with honey and then thrown into a nest of fire ants. Preferably a colony that has one ant for each spam message that could be traced back to them.
I can't describe how much I loathe these slimy scum-suckers, or relate how much time, productivity and money has been lost dealing with their bullsh*t. A few weeks ago one of my mail servers was slammed hard with DNR bounces and there was little I could do to stop it. My subsequent Facebook status for the day was: "Dante reserved the ninth, frozen circle of hell for betrayers. Apparently he never met a spammer..."
-Dan
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/22/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
Citrix is a rather amazing company. I can't think of any other company that's made more money partnering with Microsoft. Most companies would be happy to simply survive such an alliance.
Citrix is prospering by adding value on top of Windows Server and Hyper-V. In fact, Citrix grew 8 percent last year, outpacing VMware's 6 percent, which ain't too shabby either.
Now Citrix and Microsoft have renewed their vows and made it clear that despite Microsoft buying technology that overlaps with Citrix, the idea is still for Citrix to add value to whatever Redmond has.
And just to give VMware a little poke, Citrix and Microsoft are offering free licenses to folks who trade in their VMware licenses. I doubt that many will turn off a working virtual system. The real opportunity is going after new business.
Who is your favorite and least favorite virt vendor? Send real answers to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/22/2010 at 1:17 PM1 comments
Security researchers Core Security says Microsoft's Virtual PC really does have a hole. Microsoft says that's absolutely false.
Core says hackers can use the hypervisor layer to make it past an array of Windows security blocks. Microsoft says the hypervisor is fine. The problem is with vulnerabilities that lie beneath that layer within Windows, most of which can be patched.
While there may be a dispute here, it's a healthy one. Anything that makes our computers safer is well worth talking about.
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/22/2010 at 1:17 PM0 comments
IBM and Microsoft haven't stopped competing and complaining since the famous split over OS/2 versus Windows. Afterwards, IBM bought Redmond's sworn enemy Lotus and has been a thorn in Exchange's side ever since.
Lately IBM has been pushing its cloud technologies and services against Azure. IBM Cloud (now there's a simple, straightforward name!) right now is aimed at developers. But the ultimate plan is to have a public cloud with an array of application services such as WebSphere and DB2.
Whom do you trust more in the cloud? IBM, Microsoft, Google or Amazon? Shoot your answers over the ether to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/22/2010 at 1:17 PM1 comments
We continue sharing some of your responses to your favorite companies and products that aren't with us anymore:
My favorite defunct product is the Texas Instruments TI-99\4A. When I bought mine in 1982, all the store demos (TI-99\4A, commodore, etc) had "Donkey Kong" on them and the TI had the best graphics. Once I got it home and opened it up, I found the manuals to be very well written and easy to understand. They made learning BASIC a breeze. Imagine my delight when over the summer I found a program on the Internet that not only emulates the TI-99\4A on the PC, but comes with the TI's most popular games and applications. Once again, I get to play "Tunnels of Doom."
- Neil
My favorite defunct product was Cullinet's CULPRIT report writer. This was a no-compile report generator that would read IDMS natively, and had sophisticated (for its time) sorting, control breaking and page setup -- all the benefits of a custom written COBOL program without the coding or compiling. Interestingly, it was the same product as Cullinets EDP-Audtior. They just renamed and repackaged it with a few different modules and charged you twice! Now how's that for a business model!
Anyway, if you look at modern report generators like SAS, COGNOS,etc, they can all trace a little history back to CULPRIT. It was a great tool.
- Frank
There are many -- how about good old DBASE III? Empires were made on that product. I used the multi-user version on a Novel Netware LAN in the mid-1980s to run a system that tracked requisitions, purchases and deliveries. Despite all the features, the application was pretty doggone snappy.
This recollection also brings back memories of a DBASE clone called Clipper. It could produce a compiled DBASE III application or Paradox.
That takes me to Novell Netware, version 2.x. After using IPX for years, Microsoft came out with their network and file servers that brought the death of Netware. The dedicated server in 2.x was reasonably snappy. And with a centralized lock manager, multi-user applications were possible.
Of course, I'd be remiss in not citing Visicalc. Lotus 123 owes its origins to that program. Many lessons in licensing were learned from that program.
- Lee
My response will quite definitely date me to before your time. I was working with GSI, an oil exploration company in Dallas, when they bought the rights to the transistor from Bell Labs in Houston. This led to the formation of Texas Instruments in Dallas. As I was an electronics tech --GSI moved me over to TI at the planning stage -- I still have (in storage that is for sure) one of the first Computer units that TI built. I even wrote a math program that would convert acoustic signals to Fourier transforms that could work on the "cracker box". This was the early 1950s and is a far cry from the unit I am now using. Needless to say, I assembled this unit myself and am still using a Microsoft Windows XP Professional x 86 OS.
-Robert
I loved my Color Computer from Radio Shack. I used it to teach myself basic programming and to add titles to my video tapes.
-Mark
I bought an external SCSI disk for my Amiga. I can't remember if it was 5MB or 50MB, but I do remember it was UKP500 ($800 or so)!
You could also get an expansion card that would make it emulate an IBM PC -- amazing stuff.
-Gordon
I miss WordStar. I typed my high school senior year papers using WordStar on an IBM PC with a RGB monitor and 2 5-1/4 floppies. I don't think it even had a hard drive and printed it on an 8-pin dot matrix tractor feed printer that printed about 1 page an hour
Anyway thanks for the article, it was fun remembering the first PC in our house.
-John
I would give an honorable mention to FoxPro, the end point of the evolution of the xBase database world. At its zenith, there were thousands of enterprises around the world running screaming high performance, stable enterprise systems with it, largely DOS/Novell based. The Soviet army ran on it and that says something. I've worked with some of those programmers, and they were wizards.
IMHO, Microsoft bought it to kill it so that it wouldn't compete with MS Access, which, at the time was a poor nascent substitute. They "improved" it by dragging it into the OO world.
Don't get me wrong, I've known many great Web programmers over the years that swore by ColdFusion, based on FoxPro, but all I can think of is the untold millions spent by companies that had great complex systems that needed to be entirely rewritten.
-Bob
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/19/2010 at 1:17 PM1 comments
Last week we wrote about a Microsoft-sponsored report that shows that IE 8 is number one in blocking malware. Now there's a Google report that puts IE 8 dead last in handling JavaScript.
When it comes to JavaScript, it's all about the failures, and IE 8 failure to conform to the spec was far worse than Opera, which came in first. Safari finished second and Chrome in third. I guess it ain't rigged, because if it was Chrome would have at least come in second!
What's your favorite and least favorite browser? Votes welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/19/2010 at 1:17 PM1 comments
Adobe and Microsoft haven't always gotten along. Redmond tried to displace the PDF format with its own Metro and aimed Silverlight against Flash and Shockwave.
Now Adobe's bigger enemy is Apple, who claims Flash is too fat for mobile devices.
I'm not sure if this brought Adobe and Redmond closer, but either way the two companies are working on a plan to deliver Adobe patches through the Microsoft Patch Tuesday process.
This is a big deal for two reasons -- Adobe software is relatively ubiquitous, and it also needs quite a bit of patching. Would you like to see third-party patches rolled into Patch Tuesday? Yays and nays welcome at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 03/19/2010 at 1:17 PM9 comments